Gov. Andrew Cuomo has gotten his tongue caught in a wringer and now has some serious explaining to do.

Last summer when he announced a special commission under New York’s Moreland Act to investigate the appalling corruption in state government, he promised an independent investigation.

“Anything (the Moreland Commission) wants to look at, they can look at — me, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the comptroller, any senator, any assemblyman. They have total control and ability to look at whatever they want to look at,” Cuomo said.

Nearly a year later in the wake of reports that his office repeatedly interfered with the investigation, Cuomo has revised his promise.

“You suggest the (Moreland) Commissioners and staff wanted to be independent. Well they couldn’t be because they really weren’t. Again, they were given investigative decision capacity by the Governor, which again they say was adhered to, but it was not actually independent,” the governor now contends.

That startling reversal came in response to a New York Times investigation published on Wednesday that reported that top Cuomo staffers took actions that helped keep the anti-corruption panel from investigating Cuomo and his allies. Cuomo’s decision in March to disband the Moreland Commission’s work adds an unpleasant whiff to the smell of corruption that regularly rises from the state’s capital.

That stench has attracted the attention of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who oversees the state’s southern district and has been investigating the panel’s demise. He promised this week to continue the corruption probe begun by the commission that had included 10 current district attorneys among its 25 members, including Broome County’s Gerald Mollen. The commission voluntarily offered Bharara the documents it had amassed in the eight months it operated before Cuomo pulled its plug.

When the public’s trust of the state Senate and Assembly is at a low ebb, these revelations are just another blow to the credibility of the state’s elected leaders. Twenty-six legislators have been indicted or implicated in fraudulent and deceitful behavior.

Cuomo’s reputation stands badly damaged by these disturbing revelations. To restore his credibility, he should voluntarily disclose every email and message from his office that involved the anti-corruption investigation.

Opinion polls show Cuomo as a shoo-in for a second term. As badly as the Times report reflects on Cuomo and his administration, it is doubtful that GOP challenger Bob Astorino will be able use the Moreland Commission fiasco to reverse what looks like a landslide victory for the incumbent.

Even if Cuomo skates to re-election in November, the public deserves more — a governor and a legislative body they can trust — and Cuomo’s own words in this matter make it difficult to trust what he says.

What’s next

To restore his credibility, Cuomo should voluntarily disclose every email and message from his office that involved the anti-corruption investigation.